Introduction
Directed by the duo Kookie Gulati and Robbie Grewal, Jewel Thief stars Saif Ali Khan, Jaideep Ahlawat, Kunal Kapoor and Nikita Dutta in the lead roles and while the production value seemed nice overall, it's the lack of dynamism that prevents this film from making even the slightest of marks whatsoever. Jewel Thief also has a lot of commonality with Race 2 (2013) except for one aspect; the entertainment value that the latter aced!
Basic Plot
A professional thief, hired by a painter, falls into trouble while trying to steal the African ruby, 'The Red Sun'.
Positives
There's really quite less positives about this film, owing to a misfire beyond repair from the makers in every filmmaking aspect.
Jaideep Ahlawat and Saif Ali Khan
I'm pretty sure the makers knew this film is going to require 'big names' and hence this casting. And after watching this film, I can surely say that their calculation was correct because it's only because of Saif and Ahlawat, that you will watch this film. Both of them try hard to pull of their respective dull and flat characters and while they didn't ace that, they act as catalysts to at least drive you continue watching the film in spite of hundreds of better alternatives available on Netflix. Saif tries to fit into his Ek Hasina Thi (2004) days and Jaideep Ahlawat primarily reaps on his recent successes like Pataal Lok Season 2 (2025). Their characters are neither exciting, nor there's anything to watch out for. The fact that a basic amount of entertainment is a must for any film, seemed to be absolutely stranger to the director duo, making Jewel Thief an awkward heist thriller. Wait. Did I just say thriller? But where's thrill? Let's talk about that in the next section.
Underwhelming Aspects
Direction and Characterization
Direction has really gone for a toss here, and I should say, this film even feels dated. And when a Siddharth Anand produced film feels dated, you should know that there's something horribly wrong here. The main heist plot, the family oriented sub-plot and even the forced love angle, makes no impact (even when combined, let alone in particular). The color palette of the film (although quite vibrant, giving out a stylish vibe) seems repetitive after a certain point, and hence, you can't really make out the differences between Mumbai, Istanbul and Budapest as everything looks the same in terms of overall visual appeal. The thrill factor also feels missing entirely, all thanks to boring characters. There's no twist, no double crossing (or activities of that sort), and even, no exciting plot points whatsoever. Whereas, in spite of remaining true to the genre, Jewel Thief tries to tap in all possible sub-genres and sub-plots, which heavily inhibits it's actual target of being an entertaining heist thriller. Jaideep Ahlawat doesn't seem cunning or brutal in any sense and you really miss the villainous feel that his character so desperately required in this film. It's just that Ahlawat carries his half heartedly written character solely with his acting caliber.
Conclusion
Jewel Thief fails big time in creating any impact, and most viewers will probably choose to skip this film and watch some other content. This is the grammar of OTT; if you want a positive response to your film, you ought to make a good film, as the competition is absolutely huge. The editing is quick and subtle as some nice cross-cut effects come into play in substantial amount throughout the film. The heist scenes are somewhat enjoyable as they follow the typical template of a heist film, but the others are just not worth talking about as they're all over the place. Talking about it's similarities with Race 2 (2013), that 12 year old Saif starrer had fantastic music, back to back twist, interesting characters, good action, nice execution by the director duo Abbas-Mustan, and most importantly, a whole lot of entertainment, all of which is missing here. It's just the sub-plot of Race 2 that's weirdly used here, and that's of no use. The music is just average and you won't remember any of the songs once you finish watching the film. It was a very bland experience watching Jewel Thief on Netflix and it's primarily the complete lack of entertainment quotient that makes the already dubious filmmaking more apparent and obvious.
Watch Out For
- The 'Jadoo' song during the post credits.
WTF Rating
5/10